RELIGION - The African Mirror

Mar

07

2021

Pope Francis holds historic meeting with Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric

RELIGION

POPE Francis held a historic meeting with Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani yesterday, in a powerful appeal for coexistence in a country torn by sectarianism and violence. Their meeting in the holy city of Najaf, during a whirlwind and risky tour of Iraq by Francis, was the first time a pope has met with such a senior Shi'ite cleric. After the meeting, Sistani, one of the most important figures in Shi'ite Islam, called on world religious leaders to hold great powers to account and for wisdom and sense to prevail over war. The pope also called for…

Mar

25

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope orders salary cuts for cardinals, clerics, to save jobs of employees

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis has ordered cardinals to take a 10% pay cut and reduced the salaries of most other clerics working in the Vatican in order to save jobs of employees as the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Holy See's income. The Vatican said on Wednesday that Francis issued a decree introducing proportional cuts starting on April 1. A spokesman said most lay employees would not be affected by the cuts. A senior Vatican prelate said it was believed to be the first time in living memory that a pope had taken such action. Francis, 84, and from a…

Mar

23

2021

By The African Mirror

Celebrating a year in service of South Africans

RELIGION

Scientology Volunteer Ministers (SVM) in South Africa have surpassed the millionth hour of dedicated volunteer work since lockdown started, to protect and save millions of lives against this deadly virus. Members of the SVM have made the achievement by going into hotspots and offering international standard sanitization and skills development so people have the practical tools to protect and rebuild themselves during such times. Working hand in hand with communities from all over South Africa, they worked daily since the announcement of the lockdown to offer solutions that would protect millions. While starting to protect themselves at first, it soon…

Mar

31

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope, using Shakespeare, makes climate change appeal

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA Pope Francis adapted Shakespeare's famous Hamlet quote in an appeal to people not to remain blind to the destruction of climate change and the mass migration it may cause, writing: "To see or not to see, that is the question." Francis went on to urge people to work together to protect "creation, our common home" and not "hunker down" in individualism, in the preface of a document by the Vatican development office on the pastoral care of people displaced by climactic events. "I suggest we adapt Hamlet's famous 'to be or not to be' and affirm: 'To see…

Mar

29

2021

By The African Mirror

Pope, on Palm Sunday, says devil taking advantage of pandemic

RELIGION

PHILLIP PULLELLA POPE Francis led Palm Sunday services in an almost empty St. Peter's Basilica because of coronavirus restrictions for the second consecutive year and said the devil is taking advantage of the pandemic. In pre-coronavirus times, Palm Sunday, which marks the start of Holy Week and leads to Easter, tens of thousands of people would pack St. Peter's Square holding olive branches and intricately woven palm fronds in an outdoor ceremony. Instead, only about 120 members of the faithful participated in Sunday's Mass, joining the pope and about 30 cardinals in a secondary wing of the huge basilica. "Last…

Jul

15

2020

By The African Mirror

Pastor in social media storm

RELIGION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER WHAT started as a loving gesture by one of Nigeria’s popular pastors Enoch Adeboye, led to a storm on social media. Adeboye, pastor of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, posted a message to celebrate the birthday of his wife Folu. However, in parts of the message, Adeboye said. “It does not matter what is on her itinerary if I say I would like you to go with me to so and so place... she would cancel whatever she was to do and come along with me. “The husband is the head of…

Jul

12

2020

By The African Mirror

“Deceitful forces of darkness’ behind hostage drama – Bishop

RELIGION

“Deceitful forces of darkness behind hostage drama" - Bishop AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER BISHOP Leonard Modise, leader of the International Pentecostal Holiness Church (IPHC) has blamed “deceitful forces of darkness that use violence in an attempt to hijack” the church for the hostage drama that left five people dead, several injured and 47 arrested. A hostage drama ensued at the crack of dawn on Saturday when heavily armed men in several cars besieged the IPHC headquarters in Silo, Zuurbekom, west of Johannesbrug. The hostages were rescued hours later by the police. Bishop Modise condemned the attack and said: “We are deeply…

Jul

28

2020

By The African Mirror

Kenyan church and state join hands to fight COVID-19

RELIGION

AFRICAN MIRROR REPORTER KENYAN deputy president William Samuel Ruto has held a consultation with church leaders in an effort to bolster government and civil society efforts to combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Ruto met with the Federation of Evangelical and Indigenous Churches of Kenya. “(We) discussed the integral role of the church and faith leaders, both practically and pastorally, in responding to the COVID-19 crisis through advocacy and awareness creation,” Ruto said, The meeting took place after Kenya extended a nightly curfew for 30 days to curb the spread of COVID-19 and banned alcohol sales in restaurants but stopped short of…

Jul

24

2020

By The African Mirror

Praying at Hagia Sophia, Erdogan crowns long campaign

RELIGION

PRESIDENT Tayyip Erdogan attended the first prayers at Turkey's Hagia Sophia on Friday since declaring the ancient monument a mosque, crowning his long campaign to place Islam at the heart of public life in the once fiercely secular republic. In 17 years in power, Erdogan and his Islamist-rooted AK Party have changed the face of modern Turkey, lifting a ban on wearing Muslim headscarves in public, championing religious education and building thousands of mosques across the country. While retaining Turkey's secular constitution, forged by the republic's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, Erdogan has transformed the country which Ataturk led nearly a…

Aug

06

2020

By The African Mirror

Nigerian startup helps local churches digitize operations

RELIGION

NNEKA CHILE and SEUN SANNI HENRY Okolo has grown accustomed to using his phone to stay in touch with God during the coronavirus pandemic. He uses an app every Sunday morning to listen to a virtual service in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos. Okolo, a father-of-two, has used it to help his family pray at home following the closure of churches in March. Lagos state, with more than 15,000 confirmed infections and about 200 deaths, has the largest share of Nigeria's about 45,000 COVID-19 cases. The O'Sanctus app, created last year by Nigerian tech firm Applus Dome Limited, allows Catholics to…